Death by Bacon

Don’t hate the messenger: according to a study earlier this year, death by bacon may be a real possibility. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine of 448,568 people found that eating processed foods like bacon, sausage, ham, and other processed meats increases the risk of dying prematurely. The massive long-term study followed people in 10 European countries for 12.7 years.

After adjusting for smoking, inactivity, other dietary factors, and other lifestyle factors, researchers concluded that, “significant associations with processed meat intake were observed for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and ‘other causes of death.’”

The researchers found that those people eating more than 160g of processed meat a day – approximately the equivalent of two sausages and a slice of bacon – were 44 percent more likely to die in the follow-up period than those eating about 20g.

The consumption of poultry was not related to all-cause mortality.

Heart disease was the primary cause of death during the study but cancer was also high. Other causes of death were also elevated among the people eating higher amounts of processed meat.

Does that mean you have to give up bacon? Of course not. But it does mean you should at least know the risks of eating it or any other processed meat on a daily basis.

There is a high price to pay for the trend toward “bacon-on-everything” that seems to be so popular these days. It’s hard to argue with such an enormous and long-term study. And, contrary to misinformation and propaganda I’ve seen floating around on the Internet, bacon (and other processed meat) is clearly not a health food.

As always, anything processed is bad for you. Properly cured meats are not so bad if you are inclined to eat meat. Personally I love bacon but have stopped buying it because of all the nitrates and things they stick in there. Same goes for any processed meat - YUK!

Sounds scary but I love bacon even though I rarely eat it.
My Aunts and uncles raised hogs, made smoked bacon, pork sausage etc. and the lived well into old age. They had it every morning for breakfast and lived well into old age so I'm not really worried about eating it occasionally.

I hear that Dagmar! I have Tempeh Bacon in my refrigerator right now. I usually make my own Seiten bacon but I've been rather busy with the holiday coming up. I am the only vegan here so If I want a vegan feast I have to cook my own. This year I am adding a nice before dinner Oeuvres to my menu. I can make a vegan "Eggless" Deviled Egg which would truly challenge even the omnivores to tell apart from regular hen eggs. And they are ultra easy to make, as well as great tasting too! I am adding them as my pre-dinner hors d'uvres.

Actually Don S. I have seen the boiled alive to a degree in prepping pigs for becoming food. They weren't boiled as much as broiled though. The butcher took a torch and seared every inch of the screaming pigs body. They kept it alive while the blisters formed and pulled the rind/skin from its body. They explained that they do this to make it easier to get in there without going through the incredibly tough hide. It remains that way for a day or so while being kept hydrated, but the end result is that they kill it than finish cooking it. So Wendy K isn't being nearly as insane or off base as you imply. I got so upset that I wanted to climb through the screen and attack the man with the torch. You would most likely be very sickened and shocked by some of the truths that get labeled rantings or ravings by a crazy vegetarian or crazy vegan. Sometimes those rantings are ranted truths which incredibly badly hurts the one making the rant.